Outside Pets. Part V – The Dangerous Dog Ordinance

In our last post, we wrote that unscrupulous people might be more tempted to steal pets who are left outside unattended for lengthy periods of time.

Another concern is the dangerous dog ordinance. If a pet parent isn’t home and neighbors or passersby claims that an outside dog attacked them, the pet guardian will have a hard time defending his or her dog. The guardian can say “that story doesn’t make sense” or “my dog would never do that” “he has my dog confused with another dog.” But if the dog is alone outdoors and the pet parent is away, the pet parent can’t say, definitively “I was there and this is what happened”.

This article recounts the story of a local dog who was put to sleep after he bit a neighbor as she stood over the common fence.

This article talks about the dangerous dog ordinance and how authorities are on the side of victim. Which is how it should be. But this could mean that the pet guardian might have to prove his/her dog innocence – which will be hard to do if the pet guardian isn’t there.

The above article also mentions another local dog, a lab named Marley. This dog was not put to sleep like the Dalmatian. But the pet parent had to go through legal battles and loose his dog for several weeks due to impoundments. He was not present when the bites occurred.
More on Marley here